In recent years, information devices such as personal computers (to be referred to as PCs hereinafter) and the like have increasingly prevailed in homes. Also, an infrastructure environment such as the Internet or the like with which everyone can easily use information on the network has been built, and digital home appliances such as digital cameras, digital video cameras, and the like have proliferated. Under such circumstances, printer devices that can obtain a desired printout have rapidly spread to homes.
A so-called multimedia environment that allows the user to print or to insert images sensed by digital cameras and the like in e-mail messages, home pages, and the like via the Internet by connecting such devices to the PC is ready. Upon building use environments of such devices, installation processes are often required. That is, the user must install an application program to be used, a so-called device driver required to use a device to be connected, and the like in the PC in advance, and then must connect the device to a predetermined I/O port. That is, the user can use the required functions after he or she successfully completes such installation processes.
However, since these processes require some expert knowledge and correct understanding of manuals and the like, such requirements make beginners, children, aged users, and the like harder to use such functions and impose mental loads on them.
The conventional arrangement will be explained below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 38 is a view for explaining an example of the conventional arrangement, and shows a system arrangement using a personal computer (PC). Reference numeral 500 denotes a PC main body. A monitor 501 is connected to a video circuit (not shown), and can output text and images.
As shown in FIG. 38, many devices are connected to the PC main body: a keyboard 503 for inputting text and the like, a mouse 504 as one of pointing devices for operating an input instruction position such as a pointer on a screen, and a printer 505 used to obtain a desired printout are connected to an I/F port 507. The PC main body comprises a CD (compact disk reader) 506 which can read the contents of a CD-ROM (compact disk ROM) that records information required to install an application and the like, a floppy disk device (not shown), a large-size memory 502 which comprises a hard disk or a flash ROM (electrically programmable memory) for storing application programs, device drivers, and the like installed using information recorded on a CD-ROM in the CD 506 and floppy disk, and a work memory, an external I/F 510 which comprises a modem used to connect an external network 511 such as the Internet or the like, a network communication circuit, and the like, and an I/O port 508 used to connect a digital home appliance 512 such as a digital camera or the like, and other external devices 509.
In the conventional arrangement, when the user connects and uses a desired application program, and devices such as a printer, digital camera, and the like he or she purchased, he or she must install program information/data supplied via storage media such as a floppy disk, CD-ROM, and the like which come with them or via a file acquired via the Internet or the like in the hard disk or the like. For this reason, upon using the application and the devices connected, the storage capacity of the expensive hard disk decreases.
Before the user begins to use the desired application or device connected after the installation processes, he or she must often restart the personal computer, thus requiring a long setup time until he or she can begin to use them.
Upon connecting various devices shown in FIG. 38, the user must often attach option boards such as an I/F port, I/O card, external I/F, and the like to the PC main body.
Upon attaching such option boards, in most cases, the user must temporarily turn off the power supplies of devices already connected to the PC, and the power supply of the PC itself, open the housing cover of the PC main body, insert an option board into a predetermined I/O slot and fix it using screws or the like, close the housing cover again, and turn on the power supply to start the system. After that, in order to use the inserted option board, the user must install an optimal device driver and the like in the hard disk or the like, restart the system once more in the worst case, and then install a device driver and the like of a required device to be connected to that option board, resulting in troublesome operations.
Such option card or a control circuit of a device built in the PC main body often incorporates a ROM or the like so as to control various functions. In recent years, a flash ROM (electrically erasable/programmable ROM) is used as such ROM so that the ROM contents can be rewritten, and the user can debug software and upgrade the version of software after purchase.
However, such rewrite operation of the ROM contents is normally done by the user, and is provided at user's own risk. That is, this operation requires some expert knowledge.
For example, confirmation of the version of a ROM to be rewritten, acquisition of an appropriate version-up program, rewrite operation in a specific operation environment, and the like are required, thus requiring close attention. If the user makes wrong operation, the system can no longer be started or some or all functions are no longer available in the worst case.
That is, such version-up service method is difficult for and not welcomed by end users.
For example, a function “to print an image sensed by a digital camera” in the conventional arrangement will be examined below. The user connects a digital camera and printer to the PC, and installs device drivers, applications, and the like required for these devices in a hard disk or the like in advance. The user then selects and launches a predetermined installed application or the like to temporarily download a desired image from the digital camera to a storage device such as a hard disk or the like of the PC, and inputs a print instruction after connecting the printer, thus obtaining a printout. That is, in order to implement a relatively simple function “to take and print a picture” that the user wants, the user must perform a tremendous amount of work.
FIGS. 39 and 40 are views for explaining another conventional arrangement. The conventional arrangement shown in FIGS. 39 and 40 is an example that improves convenience of the function “to print an image sensed by a digital camera”, and the printer comprises a so-called direct print function.
In FIGS. 39 and 40, a memory 530 is a memory device which can be attached to a digital camera, and comprises a nonvolatile memory. An image sensed by a digital camera is saved in the memory, and when the sensed image is to be printed, the memory 530 is detached from the digital camera, and is attached to an adapter 520 or printer 540. Then, print operation is made at a control panel 521 or 541 to print out a desired image.
So-called JPEG data is used as image data saved in the memory 530, and the adapter 520 or printer 540 comprises an image processing function to print out such image data. These devices print out image information such as JPEG data while rasterizing, reducing, or enlarging it.
In order to generate print data at high speed via an image process, color process, and the like, the aforementioned device comprises a high-speed CPU, complicated hardware, and a large-size memory, resulting in high device cost. Also, since the control panel 520 or 541 has an LCD (liquid crystal display), many operation buttons, and the like, the device size increases due to an increase in physical area of the operation portion, and the operability suffers due to hard-to-see display of operation designation states and the like on a compact display such as an LCD or the like, considering the fact that the device cost increases.
In the conventional arrangement, upon printing using the printer device, the user must set the type of print medium such as a paper sheet to be used in a print process in correspondence with the output print quality of a target image he or she wants to print out. If the user makes wrong setups, a printout against his or her expectation is obtained. For example, when an ink-jet printer is used, the output print quality deteriorates due to tincture, color mixing, ink overflow, and the like.
On the other hand, print media used to output high-quality images are normally expensive, and such media may often be wasted by erroneous operations.
In the conventional arrangement, when the user takes a family photo in, e.g., a living room using a digital camera and wants to immediately print it out, he or she must go to a room where the personal computer is set, resulting in poor convenience.